Saturday, July 31, 2010

Our final Pulp Fiction mouse for this week's set is The Gimp! He just happens to be Naomi's favourite ;-)

The Gimp Mouse sleeps in a matchbox in the cellar of a mousy pawn shop. He is released for naughty mousy games whenever his masters fancy them. He often can't stop giggling, and quite enjoys wearing his leather outfit and chains. Nobody knows his true identity... He's the perfect gift for any Pulp Fiction or Quentin Tarantino fan, or anyone who has a wicked sense of humor!

Friday, July 30, 2010

Butch Mouse is a boxer, and is on the run from Mousellus Wallace and his gangster hitmice. But when he finds himself ball-gagged and locked in a cellar with a Gimp Mouse and Mousellus Wallace, of all mice, he knows he can use the situation to his advantage. Now all he needs to do is choose the perfect weapon to defeat the "bad guys", release Mousellus and run for freedom!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

For my My Creative Space post this week, I wanted to share my progress: I'm really starting to enjoy seeing the world from a Mouse-eye view!

This is the very first mousy guitar I have made, and I'm pretty pleased with it really! It's wonderful and funny to think of the practicalities of the mice actually using the little accessories. I'm also really anjoying coming up with new and inventive ways to make things that Anna hasn't tried yet for the mice. As I was making a set of teacher mice, I thought I'd try making apples and calculators from clay...

I used a needle to indent the buttons and the little screen on the calculator, and painted the apple a nice shiny red. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts, I am learning all the time :-)

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my work today! These mice will be listed for sale once they've made the special trip to Holland.

Mousellus Wallace is the baldest, blackest, badest mouse in town. What he says goes, and his henchmen will do anything to lay down the law in his name. He was not at all amused when a stranger named Zed decided to have some fun involving a little mousy ball-gag... But nobody else needs to know about that...

Mousellus Wallace was hand sewn using felt, ribbon, card, paper, glue, clay, wire, monofilament and stuffed with polyfil. He stands approximately 2.5inches tall (6.5cm) his costume is not removable.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Here is the 3rd of Naomi's Pulp Fiction Mice. Little Mia Wallace Mouse, we hope you are enjoying this collection!

Silly Mia Wallace Mouse has got herself into a bit of a pickle. Luckily, Vincent Vega Mouse came to her rescue and injected her with adrenaline, straight in the heart, which has made her feel as bright as a button again. Now all they have to do is make sure her husband, Mousellus, doesn't find out about it, or they'd both be in a heap of trouble...

Mia Wallace Mouse was hand sewn using felt, ribbon, card, wire, modeling clay, glue, monofilament and stuffed with polyfil. She stands approximately 2.5inches tall (6.5cm) her costume is not removable.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Hi there, it's Naomi here, Anna has allowed me the pleasure of listing and introducing this new mouse today. He's a bit special to me really, and he completes a classic double-act with Jules Winnfield Mouse.

As you all know now, the new set of mice this week are characters from the movie Pulp Fiction. You may not know that I chose this set of mice as my first new creations for The House of Mouse because this happens to be my favourite movie! And a few of you will know that I named my son Vincent, too. Not exactly after this character, but his coolness in the movie did help ;-)

So may I introduce our second offering from this cult classic movie: Vincent Vega Mouse.

Vincent Vega Mouse is one of Mousellus Wallace's closest companions. He carries out all kinds of duties for the mob leader, including spending plenty of time in Amsterdam (where even the strongest cheese is legal!) and taking good care of Mrs Mia Wallace. He is carrying his current favourite novel, which he loves to read while on the toilet. He definitely does not watch television. He's the perfect gift for any Pulp Fiction fan, or anyone who likes Quentin Tarantino or John Travolta.

Vincent Vega Mouse was hand sewn using felt, ribbon, card, paper, glue, monofilament and stuffed with polyfil. The title of the book he is reading is "Modesty Blaise". He stands approximately 2.5inches tall (6.5cm).

Monday, July 26, 2010

That's right everyone, the 6 new mice that we are releasing this week are from the cult film Pulp Fiction! Congratulations to Swee who guessed right in our Mini-Giveaway! You win a free mouse pin.

All of these new mice were designed and made by Naomi and are her first mice for our store. I am so proud her creativity, and I know you will be impressed with her work as you see each new mouse this week.

Here is the first: Jules Winnfield Mouse.

Little Jules Winnfield Mouse is a hardened gangster hitmouse, working for the notorious Mousellus Wallace. He used to enjoy quoting cold-blooded bible passages before popping caps in... various places... But since a particular incident that was unquestionably a miracle, he's realised that he's had enough of the gangster life, and has decided to "walk the earth" instead.

Jules Winnfield Mouse was hand sewn using felt, ribbon, card, paper, glue, monofilament and stuffed with polyfil. The text on the wallet he is holding says "bad mother ..." (we can't see the last word, his paw is covering it). He stands approximately 2.5inches tall (6.5cm)

Saturday, July 24, 2010

I thought it would be fun and useful to share with you all some things I've been learning in my new role as a Mousemaker. Not necessarily things about making mice, but important stuff that is helping me to enter a craft that is brand new to me. You see, I have done bits of sewing throughout my life, but never in so particular a fashion as this, and Anna is helping me to learn so much in a very short space of time. But this is still very new to me, and so I am finding that I have a lot of new knowledge and insights that I'd love to share.

The first mouse I made when I joined The House of Mouse was made without a "pattern" or any instructions, because I was just too impatient to wait for the parcel that Anna had posted to me! But even though I was only making him for my own pleasure, I knew to be gentle with my first attempts at this new craft. I've learned that whenever we try some new creative endeavours, we become something like a little child again, experimenting and making mistakes. That little child inside of us is delicate and can be emotionally immature, so it's really important to make sure that the harsh adult part of our brain doesn't squash that fragile little thing: it will one day grow into a magnificent artist, but it has to start somewhere! So even though his nose was wonky, even though his eyes were sunken and his ears lop-sided, I cherished that little mouse and let myself see the potential and feel some pride. And sweet Anna showered me with praise for my clumsy first attempt! She, too, knows how important it is to treat your inner artist child gently.

And, as we both hoped, my learning was very quick! Paired with Anna's wonderful patience and our natural ease of communication together, as well as some fantastic tutorial videos, I was quickly making mice that are fit to sell in our Etsy shop... And here they are, with Anna's Chewy mouse!

And so my first piece of advice for anyone considering trying something new or changing some part of their creative work is this: If you are, I must tell you that it can be the most liberating, exciting and rewarding experience if you give yourself space and time to learn. It is also important that in those first early days of your new crafting, you are careful about the people you share your work with. Some people might not understand how to see the potential in your new work, and may judge you harshly (including yourself!!). Be gentle and patient and see what develops.

I will share some other thoughts with you soon, but we'd love to hear from you if you're thinking of starting something new or have already started, especially art or crafts or anything business- or Etsy-related! It's very exciting to play around with your creativity and freshen things up with something totally different once in a while.

Friday, July 23, 2010

You're probably wondering where our new mouse for this week is... Well, we have been so busy this week making not one, not two, but SIX new mice that we're taking a rest today and we'll list them over the course of next week.

Each of the 6 new mice are characters from the same cult film... can you guess which one? We'll send a free mouse pin to the first person to guess right!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

For my first My Creative Space post, I thought I would take you back to the very beginning. To the first mouse I ever made... here she is. I just named her "Granny Mouse", as you can see my sewing skills left a lot to be desired! And the fishing line I used for her whiskers was waaaay too thick. But I learned a lot from making her, and I still keep her in my studio so she can watch over all the mice as I make them. She is kind of a Matriarch.For the fun of a comparison, here is the latest mouse I made: Albert Einstein Mouse: just over 2.5 years span the making of Granny Mouse and Albie Mouse, it's nice to see that I learned a few tricks in that time!

Since this is a My Creative Space post, I felt I should actually show you where I work. The first photo is of me in 2008, back when my studio was in major need of refurbishment. Oh how skinny I was then (before I had a baby!)

Here's my studio today, after the refurbish and much tidier too. I decided not to include myself in this pic - I couldn't stand the comparison on Me!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Albert Einstein Mouse is a mousy genius. He is most famous for discovering the formula E = MC2, (The Energy a mouse has is equal to the Mouthfuls of Cheese he can eat, squared) which quickly revolutionized the old thinking that it had something to do with running fast on a mouse wheel. Einstein Mouse is also a philosopher and author, he just loves to spend time thinking about all things theoretical. He'll happily come to your home and theorize with you for hours on the meaning of the universe. This little mouse wears a black suit and has his trademark untidy white hair and moustache

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Well, Anna and I decided it was about time we showed you our creative spaces. It's going to be so interesting, because of course we're both making mice, but in two different countries and each with our own ways of working and our own "studio setup"! So this week you'll be hearing from me (Naomi!) here in the UK. Right now, I am working from a mixture of little exciting bundles of materials and other goodies that Anna has been sending me (like those parcels they drop on desert islands!) and my own sourced materials, for the mice and their clothes and accessories. I've been making good use of some wonderful boxes with fabulous little compartments and cubby-holes that had not been properly used before to store my new wealth of threads, materials and allsorts.

The mice are sitting mostly on the desk with me at the moment, but as I make more and more I am finding that they need official 'homes' before they are adopted, if I want to keep my work space clear! It's going to be fascinating to look back on these Creative Space posts and probably laugh at my very first attempts at some sort of organisation. As I get more and more familiar with the mice, I am sure little tricks will emerge on how to keep things organised! (Any helpful hints, Anna? Or anyone?!) :-)

Oh yes, and finally... This little guy rarely fails to make me grin when I'm mousemaking in here.... He's been lovingly nicknamed "Pinhead", the poor little thing... If anyone would like to rescue Pinhead from his doomed existence, then please do buy me a pin cushion! ;-)

Friday, July 9, 2010

John Lennon Mouse is a long haired, peace loving musician. He is dressed in his iconic white suit and round glasses. He loves to lay in bed all day - especially as a peaceful protest. John Lennon Mouse will happily come and sit on your windowsill and play "Imagine" to you on his guitar. The perfect gift for any Lennon fan.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Blair the trumpeter mouse loves to blow his own horn - his trumpet that is! He is the best little trumpeter mouse around and all his friends love to come and listen to him play, he loves to play lots of silly noises to amuse them. Blair's favourite style is Jazz, but he'd give any genre a go given half a chance. He's the perfect gift for any trumpeter or fan of trumpet music.